For the second time since its founding, 805 Startups will be hosting the State of the 805 Tech Awards and Investor Panel on Wednesday July 27 at 7 p.m.. The event will take place in the Civic Arts Plaza in Thousand Oaks with the aim to pack their 400-person theater to the brim.

“[The event] is a review of startups and technology in the area. Essentially from San Fernando Valley to Santa Barbara. More specifically, Conejo Valley. That is our main focus,” said Gary Livingston. “It is an assessment of the local startup advancement.”

With this being his first time on the project, Livingston is assisting Managing Director Alon Goren in scaling up the event through different marketing strategies and product development. His goal is to separate the event from a typical meet up group experience.

“The goal is to put the spotlight on startup activity in the community. There is a lot of money in this town, and they all travel south. They don’t think about what is happening in their own backyard. We want to wake them up to that,” Livingston said.

Goren will lead moderation of the panel of four judges: three being investors and one, a successful entrepreneur, that manage more than $240 billion combined. They will be focusing on closing questions, insights and investing into any of the spotlighted startups. The crowd will also be involved through Q&A sessions and networking opportunities.

“We are the largest group of entrepreneurs in Ventura County,” Goren said. “We show people that every piece of the startup puzzle is right here in the area.”